One of the symptoms of Taper Madness is hypochondria (along with anxiety, restlessness, and self-doubt......its really a great time!). Many runners experience aches and pains during taper that they haven't felt before in training and freak out about them . People say its just the body's way of healing itself after the months of training.
The Taper Hypochondria has hit me hard this past week. Monday I went out for what should have been a 7 mile run but quit at 3.5 miles because my hip was tight and my left shin was really sore. I decided to take Tuesday off to rest and road my bike instead. Wednesday I decided to try running again and covered 6 miles still with some discomfort, but not as bad as Monday's run. I was feeling optimistic!
Thursday I took off too and got a massage. I told her about my aches and pains....tried to blame it on everything except the running (did I overstretch in yoga? was it the 9 mile bike ride?) She just laughed, told me to stop making excuses, and said of course it was the running! She said she wasn't worried about my tight glut as that's easy to massage (I think what she was doing to my left butt cheek could be considered assault in a court of law!). But she said she was worried about my shin....crap :( We both agreed that it wasn't the bone since that wasn't where it hurt. She said she thinks its the fascia (connective tissue) becoming inflamed and pulling away from the bone....that doesn't sound good! But we remained optimistic that with ice, Advil, and another massage next week that I should be good enough to go!
She wanted me to run on Friday to see how things were feeling. Overall it wasn't a great run, but my shin was feeling much better....again, not 100% by any means, but better. After much convincing from my running friends via e-mails and talks at work, I decided not to run my scheduled 12 miler this weekend and bike instead. No good will come of one more 12 mile run.....I'm not going to gain any fitness at this point and taking a couple days off the pounding will probably be beneficial. I am trying remain optimistic and think of this as a positive thing!
My calender at work this month features Deena Kastor when she ran Boston last year. I was looking at the picture on Friday and felt encouraged. See my friend John has started calling me "Deena" because he thinks I'm so speedy. After a few e-mails back and forth yesterday, I wrote this to John..."If Deena Kastor can take 6 weeks off running in 2005 (foot injury)and still win the Chicago Marathon then this 'Deena' can take a couple days off!" He completely agreed and told me that this break will actually help in "Mission 3:40". This is why I love my running friends....they make me laugh when I need it most!
I'm not going to say I'm not worried, because of course I am but its really out of m hands now. God has a plan for me and I have to leave this race in His hands. So ice and Advil will continue to be my best friends over the next few days and I just have to hope this Taper Hypochondria moves on to some other victim ASAP!! Off for a bike ride.......
2 comments:
I think there's a fine line sometimes in terms of the taper aches & pains. When minor stuff crops during the taper, I agree that hypochondria is likely the main culprint. When it happens well before the taper, and you end up just trying to ride out the training until race day, it's for real.
Hope your aches and pains clear up and that you have a great marathon.
Best of luck, ESG
Hm... connective tissue. I think I should teach you some yin yoga once this marathon is over. It's a great way to stretch and strengthen the connective tissue.
I hope you're feeling better! You're going to do great on Sunday!
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